Cattle-guard.



NTED JULY 4, 1905l PAU U. BEHAN, CATTLE GUARD..

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.. 23.1004.

ltliuiliinn intrisa Patented .Tilly llt, 'ltQE tEE UH'RlSTOPHRR BET-IAN, OF ilQAPlCER, NHUH IHA N, Ailtflil OR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE AtSrBlGNh/llCNlTS, T() JAMES DUlFKN/'AN AND el. HORACE RUBERTS,

uutrtemeuau nl.

SPECEFCATGN forming part 01:' Letters Patent No. 793,977, dated July 4, '1905.

Application iilcd August 23, 1901i. Serial No, 221,348.

,To /r/Z/ 1li/1,0711, t 717,514/ 0071/007171,.-

Be it known that li, Cums'rorunI-i Renan, a citizen olI the United States, residing at liapeer, in the county ot lJapeer and State ol hlichigan,

5 haveinvented certain new and uselul Improvements in CattleGuards, of which the following is a specilication, reference being had therein to thc accomlianying drawings.

' lhe invention relates to railway cattle- IO guards ot a typein which wood and metal are combined in the construction.

ln the earlier construction ot railway cattleguards the bars were formed lrom wood. 'ilihese guards while satisfactory in many ways 115 were open to the objection that the ends et the bars would i|"requently check and split or would rot away through the action ol the elements. Later in development metallic guards were substituted Vt'orthe wooden ones. These 2O while possessing greater strength when lirst placed have not proven to have longer lite. Une reason for this is that in the passage of reti-igerater-cars over the road the drippings olE salt water cause rapid corrosion ol the metal guards, so that they are soon weakened and broken.

llt is the object ot the present invention to combine the advantages and to avoid the laults of both the wooden and the metal guards; and

to this end the invention consists, lirst, in the peculiar construction ot' a guard in which edged wooden bars are used lor destroying the 'foothold and metallic bars are employed ttor suliporting said bars and protecting the ends thereof.

lhe invention further consists in the peculiar construction ot' said metallic supportingbars and, further, in the peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as

40 hereinafter set forth.

ln the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view oit one of the metallic supporting members, showing a wooden rail engaged therewith. Fig. 2 :is a perspective view of the center support 'for the rails. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. t is a cross-section ot' the guard.

A represents wooden rails which are tapered to an edge at the top, so as to destroy the toothold of the animal attempting to cross the guard. llhese rails A. are `formed ol suitable length and are preferably supported at the center by a strip llfl, which, as shown, is formed ot' a notched bar. The ends oi the rails are supported by metallic members C.

'lhe members U are preferably l[formed from sheet metal struck up to have a horizontal se curing-Harige a, an upwardly-inclined portion Y), anda downwardly and substantially vertical portion c. 'lhe portion c has a series of 60 apertures f] formed therein, each adapted to receive one ol the rails A. The metal which is struck out in lorming these apertures is bent ilnvard from the lower edge ol said aperture and 'lorms a supportingshelt c, upon 65 which the rails /t may rest.

lWhen placed upon the track, the members (j are secured to cross-ties, and the bars A are then engagec'l therewith, supported upon the shelves ff and the bar ll, being held a short 7o distance above the ties in the rozuhbed.

`lt is desirable that the upper edges of the bars A should be substantially at the height ot the steel rails. fit the same time the elfectiveness ol'I the guard is increased by. reduc- 7 5 ing the thickness or depth ot' the rails it, as they are thus rendered more `flexible, which further destroys the foothold oi the animal. W ith my construction bars ot less height than the steel rails may be used, and as they are 8O supported above the ties upon the shelves c their upper edges will be equal in height to said rails. A double advantage results from this: First, less material is used, and, second, their etlectiveness as a foothold-destroying medium is increased. In addition to the function ot supporting the bars r-r the members C form a cap for the ends et' the bars, which protects them t'rom the action ol the elements and prevents checking or rotting. Another advantage oilI the construction is that the member C may be skewed in relation to the bars A, so that Yfor an angle-crossing the bars A may be arranged parallel with the track and the members C parallel with the crossing road.

3. In a railway cattle-guard, the combination with a series of bars, of a metallic end cap apertured to receive the ends of said bars, and the metal struck out from said apertures being turned inward to form supportingshelves Within the metallic end cap for the ends of the bars.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER BEHAN.

I/Vtnesses:

H. C. SMITH, E. D. AULT. 

